Preservation panel to review pedestrian bridge

The public has an opportunity to weigh in on the city’s plans to erect a pedestrian bridge connecting Augusta Convention Center to a new parking garage across Reynolds Street at a Thursday public hearing.

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The hearing is before the city’s historic preservation commission, which will consider granting a certificate of appropriateness for the project. The hearing will be held at 5:30 p.m. in Room B of Augusta Public Library, 823 Telfair St.

Augusta commissioners approved the $1.1 million addition at an Aug. 27 meeting. The funds are left over from the parking deck project, City Administrator Fred Russell said.

Robin Anderson, preservation services director for Historic Augusta, said her agency had reviewed project plans and expected the bridge to be approved.

The 12-member preservation commission is appointed by the city commission and Augusta’s legislative delegation.

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If ya'll have a dog in this fight you need to show up and voice your displeasure. Not addressing this at anyone in particular; but I see a lot of ranting about ARC shenanigans on these pages by both posters and readers; and it leaves me wondering how many actually make a real effort to be heard.

Itsanotherday1.. The TEE Center was approved overwhelmingly by the citizens of Richmond County. The discussion should now turn into opening the best convention center in the united states. Many of the complaints on the Chronicle were related to residents living in other counties.

I can't believe Augusta is finally becoming more progressive. When people think small they end up with small results. Anytime the city decides to build something new they must push the envelope. I'd rather see nothing compared to multiple halfway done projects.

The TEE center is the reason for the construction at 901 Broad street($1.2 million).. The renovation of the Regency Inn($5 million) into the Holiday Inn Express is another example. The $1.1 million for the bridge is cheaper, and it's coming from the parking deck funds.

The new Cancer Center will include a crosswalk over 15th street. I'm not a fan of the name GRU, but I do give credit to Dr. Azziz for thinking big.

countyman.....THERE ARE NO PARKING DECK FUNDS because you spent TWICE what the taxpayers authorized you to spend when you built the TEE. THERE IS NO EXTRA $1.1 million laying around and, oh by the way, if you happen to find an extra million or two I'd rather you put it to the $1 million a year annual loss that nobody ever bothered to tell us about.

The TEE was overwhelming approved based on the fact that you LIED about what it was going to cost us and you failed to disclose the CROOKED deal that had already been surreptitiously agreed to for it's operation and maintenance that is an ENORMOUS additional cost to the taxpayers of this county and transfers HUGE amounts of taxpayer money directly into the pockets of the wealthiest people in town.

This whole deal STINKS and spending ANOTHER $1.1 million for an after the fact add on is absolutely incredulous. Have ANY of you financial geniuses downtown ever visited a place call REALITY?

"Local governments are exempt from the requirement of obtaining certificates of appropriateness; provided, however, that local governments shall notify the commission 45 days prior to beginning an undertaking that would otherwise require a certificate of appropriateness and allow the commission an opportunity to comment."
Georgia Code, § 44-10-27

But maybe that doesn't apply, since this walkway is a private project? Maybe like the public library whose design the Historic Preservation Commission rejected by vote in a public hearing at which the Augusta/Richmond County government was (inappropriately) requesting a certificate of appropriateness?

Who would have thought it would take a whole County to prop up four square miles? Countyman do you actually think the TEE Center would have been 'overwhelmingly approved' if the basic infastructure needs of the rest of the County were not being held hostage? When can the rest of the County expect even the smallest bone or are we just going to keep throwing all the meat and gravy downtown? As the private interests downtown get fat, the rest of the County starves.

The downtown construction projects only seem to make the headlines. The $20 million vocational high school is right next to Augusta Tech, and the sheriffs office was built in East Augusta.

Private construction outside of downtown? The Home2Suites by Hilton & the 7k sq. ft. center(Dunkin Donuts, Which Which, etc) are both under construction in the Augusta Exchange area. The Residence Inn by Marriott at 1110 Marks Church rd will break ground soon.

The $172 million Starbucks & $115 million Rockwood plants are both located in South Augusta.

City Administrator Fred (What, me worry?) Russell said, “The funds are left over from the parking deck project.”

This makes me mad. There are no funds “left over.” Those are tax dollars that need to be spent on the most pressing, most important projects we have. That skywalk is not necessary. There are more important things. They are talking about imposing a new rain tax to work on drainage issues. Maybe that is more important than a skywalk. Kill the rain tax and spend the "leftovers" on drainage, or roads, or crime prevention.